Aristotle · Philosophy
Aristotle’s political philosophy - that human beings are by nature political animals, that the state exists by nature for the good life, and that we can only flourish in community.
Aristotle’s most famous political claim is that ‘man is by nature a political animal’ (zoon politikon) - that human beings are naturally suited and inclined to live in political communities, that living in a polis (city-state, political community) is natural to and fulfilling for human beings. We are not solitary creatures who come together only by artificial agreement, but social and political animals who naturally live in communities and can only fully develop and flourish as part of a political community. The capacity for speech (logos) - for rational discourse about justice, the good, and what is advantageous - equips us for the shared political life of deliberation and community. To live in the political community of the polis, sharing in its life of justice and the common good, is natural to and fulfilling for human beings; it is our nature to be political animals.
Aristotle argued that the political community (the state) exists not merely for survival or material needs, but for the sake of the good life - the flourishing of its members. The state arises, originally, from the basic needs of life - people come together in communities to meet their needs and survive. But the state exists, in its full purpose, for the sake of the good life - for the flourishing, the virtuous and fulfilling life, of its members. The purpose of the political community is not merely to enable survival or material prosperity, but to enable its members to live well - to develop their capacities, exercise virtue, and flourish as human beings. ‘The state comes into existence for the sake of life, but exists for the sake of the good life.’ This gives the state a profound ethical purpose: it exists to enable human flourishing, to make possible the good life for its members. The political community and the good life are deeply connected: we flourish in and through the political community, and the community exists to enable our flourishing.
Aristotle’s political philosophy is characteristically practical and realistic - concerned not with designing a utopian ideal but with understanding how to achieve good government in actual circumstances. He analysed the different forms of constitution and their corruptions, the causes of political stability and revolution, the conditions for good government - and concluded that the best practicable constitution for most circumstances is a mixed constitution with a strong middle class: a ‘polity’ combining elements of democracy and oligarchy, with a large middle class providing stability and moderation. He favoured the rule of law, the participation of citizens in ruling and being ruled, and a balance of social classes - a practical, moderate, balanced government oriented toward the common good and the good life of the citizens. Aristotle’s politics is thus an exercise in practical wisdom - the realistic, empirical, comparative study of how to achieve good government and human flourishing in actual political communities, oriented toward the best practicable rather than the utopian ideal.
This is the opening of the lesson. The rest — the dialogue, the primary source, and the recall — is in the app.
You learned that Aristotle held human beings to be political animals who can only flourish in community, and the state to exist by nature for the good life. Explain these ideas in your own words.
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